Archive for November, 2012
I’m all for nurseries being a place that you love to spend time in. As long the room is practical, easy to use and enables your little one to enjoy lots of restorative sleep, how you decorate it is really about what makes you happy.
These beautiful works of art called Flower Constructions by Dutch artist Anne ten Donkelaar do it for me. I think they’d make a stunning focal point and I would love to create a nursery around them. White walls, white painted floorboards, and a hint of delicate watered down colour. A simple cot, a pretty wardrobe, some drawers and a blond bentwood rocker.
Flower constructions are 3D collages made from pressed flowers and cut out flower pictures. Each element is meticulously placed on pins which creates the depth and a delicate play of shadows. You can see more of Anne’s creations on here.
(images: anne ten donkelaar)
I received a lovely message over the weekend from Lisa Green of Little Pea Green. She named Room to Bloom in her list of favourite baby, interiors and lifestyle blogs, all of which are well worth checking out if you haven’t come across them yet (Handmade Charlotte, Le Zoe Musings, Modern Mum Must-Have, Smudgetikka). It’s so nice to hear people find inspiration on this blog, so thank you Lisa for brightening my Sunday : )
I hope the concluding part of my Eight Steps to Designing Your Dream Nursery will give some of you ideas and inspiration for your baby’s room. It’s ready now on Lisa Barnwell’s blog, with tips on seating, storage and the finishing touches. Let me know if in the future you’d like me to cover any aspects of nursery design in more detail, and I’ll do my best.
Happy Monday!
x Ursula
This extraordinary bedroom belongs to Willa who is nearly nine years old. She lives with her parents Freddie and Ben and three cats, one of whom has three legs (the cat not the parents). They share a 16th century timber framed barn in the Essex countryside, which Ben converted into a family home, studio and workshops. The conversion of the barn was filmed for Grand Designs which you can watch here and here to see more of their spectacular house.
Willa’s parents are both creatives. Freddie is an artist (she knits blood-soaked gloves and murderer’s houses) and senior tutor in Textiles at the Royal College of Art in London. Ben is an artist, sculptor, project manager, blacksmith, builder, forester, farmer, janitor and Grand Designer. These are their tips for designing your child’s bedroom:
1. Remember that your child won’t stay young forever. Design and decorate the space so that it can grow and change as your child does.
2. Use things that your child has made, their toys and collections. It is their room after all.
3. Always buy your child a good, adult sized mattress and bed as you will end up sleeping in it a lot!
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Now let’s find out a bit more about Willa! Tell us Willa…
♥ What is your favourite food? Spaghetti Bolognese
♥ What is your favourite colour? Mint green
♥ What is your favourite animal? Chihuahua
♥ Your favourite book? I’m reading Dork Diaries.
♥ Dresses and skirts or trousers? Skirt and leggings.
♥ What would you take to a desert island? My bed, my daddy made it for me.
♥ Which part of the world you like to visit one day? New York
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? I don’t know yet.
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My book shelf full of books and toys books.
♥ What do you like doing in your room? Playing with my dolls and dolls houses.
♥ Is there anything else you want to tell us about your room? My Daddy built our house, my whole bedroom and my bed. I have a round bathroom, my daddy built that too.
Thank you Willa, it was great to meet you!
(images: James Brittain)
I love these felt ball garlands to decorate a nursery or kid’s room. Learn how to make your own in colours to suit your child’s room with this fab tutorial from the ladies of Sisters Guild.
(image: line + liv)
Happy Monday everyone – where did last week go?! Mine was filled with work on a shared room for two girls, a little girl’s nursery and bits an bobs on two other projects. I’m looking forward to more of that this week – what are your plans?
I’m kicking off the week with some nice nursery images to inspire you and part two of my Eight Steps to Designing Your Dream Nursery over on Lisa Barnwell’s blog. Come and say hello if you have a minute : )
x Ursula
(images: The Socialite Family, VT Wonen, Line + Liv, Kjerstis Lykke)
1. leather squirrel coat hook 2. hedgehog lamp 3. mushroom wall lamp 4. twig coat hook 5. children’s suitcase 6. leather rabbit coat hook
(image: room to bloom)
Happy Monday everyone! Today I’m starting a 3-part series on how to design your dream nursery over on Lisa Barnwell’s blog.
Founder of Lisa Barnwell Pregnancy & Early Postnatal Care, Lisa offers her signature treatments to expecting and new mums in the comfort of their home with her bespoke At Home range of pregnancy and postnatal massage and reflexology treatments. She is also the exclusive provider of complementary therapies to The Kensington Wing, the private maternity unit at London’s Chelsea & Westminster Hospital.
For tips and advice on anything pregnancy related, health or otherwise, hop over to Lisa’s blog, where today you’ll find the first part of my Eight Steps to Designing Your Dream Nursery. See you there!
x Ursula
(images: Sissy + Marley, Smallable, Design Sponge, Line + Liv)
This cool boy’s nursery belongs to Alfie who is one and a half years old. He lives with his mum and dad in a small wooden house outside Uppsala in Sweden. Alfie’s mum Sara is an art director and illustrator. She owns a blog called SMÄM and posts regularly about Alfie’s room to document the changes as he’s growing up.
Sara has some great tips for decorating kids’ rooms:
1. Keep the amount of toys down and make sure everything has it’s place in the room.
2. Look for old stuff in second hand stores or in grandma’s basement. I’ve hardly bought anything for Alfie’s room. I’ve been over to my mum and dad’s place and stole some old chairs from when I was a kid, and I also found a great shelf that used to belong to my grandfather.
3. A simple yet fun way to style a room can be a wall decoration, poster or garland attached to the ceiling, to give more life and character to a room.
4. Stalk Pinterest 🙂
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Without further ado, let’s find out a bit more about Alfie now! Tell us Alfie…
♥ What is your favourite food? Pasta with tomato and cheese. I also like olives.
♥ What do you play with at the moment? The wooden railway from Ikea and building towers with Mega bloks.
♥ What is your favourite colour? Green.
♥ What is your favourite animal? A dog. Woof woof.
♥ Your favourite book? I like Winnie the Pooh.
♥ What do you want to be when you grow up? Don’t know. But mummy says I can be anything I want.
♥ What is your favourite thing in your room? My books.
♥ What is your favourite duvet cover? A green polka dot set with my name on the pillow and a night prayer on the duvet. My auntie made it for me.
♥ What are your favourite pyjamas? My black and white zebra pyjamas.
Thank you Alfie, it was very nice to meet you!
(images: sarah woodrow)
I came across this super sweet bunting whilst looking for something to brighten up a nursery I’m working on, and I just had to share it with you.
Handmade by Dutch designer Lydia Louw of Mizzle Studio and Mizzle Kids, you can order it via Etsy here.
(images: mizzle kids)
